


into a fantasy

by wolfodder



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon Riders, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 06:49:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11915439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfodder/pseuds/wolfodder
Summary: Hongbin has heard tell of the fabled dragonriders. He never thought he would meet one.





	into a fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> written for louise, who requested kenbin + sky c: it got a little out of control but not in the worst way i think lmao hope you like this!!
> 
> title from alexander rybak's ['into a fantasy'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiVWvrt6jKw) which is the song that inspired me along with this prompt!

The sky is looking a particularly lovely shade of blue. The clouds he sees, Hongbin fashions into strange creatures and animals. One cloud looks like a turtle - it’s more of a simple egg shape than anything, but Hongbin won’t let that stop his imagination - one has the shape of a camel; and one, he thinks, looks like a dragon, a long tongue sticking out and claws on its feet. He thinks up a story, imagines seeing a dragon flying over his field. It has never happened, but a man can dream.

He loves how peaceful this feels - lying out on the field by his home where he lives all alone, making up stories in his head with the creatures in the clouds. He’s been alone for a while, but he enjoys it more than one might think, and he’s not lonely; Hakyeon does come to visit him every now and then, after all. That’s the only company he needs.

A loud, resounding _crash_ startles Hongbin from his daydream and he sits up, hands curling in the grass, surprised. He should be the only one here - so who the hell is making a ruckus?

Perhaps one of the sheep crashed into his house again. They’re so troublesome, he wonders if they’re worth the money he earns from them. “I swear, I’m never fostering sheep again after this,” he mumbles to himself as he gets to his feet and jogs lightly back to the house.

It’s a decidedly human (humanoid at the least) voice, however, which speaks from the back side of the house. “Rose, get out of here!” the voice says, and this doesn’t sound like Hakyeon at all. It makes Hongbin feel a mixture of curiosity and worry. When did this person come to his home? How did he not notice?

He quietly enters his house and grabs a knife from the kitchen - just in case - and then goes around to the other side of the house where he believes the noise came from, knife held out in front of him protectively. He’s ready to attack if this person is sketchy.

“Shit, damn it,” the intruder mumbles, just as Hongbin starts to turn the corner; he stops before he’s in sight and hides behind the wall, but his foot bumps into a rock as he steps back. He stiffens at the sound it makes.

A long stretch of silence affirms his fear that the intruder heard him. If they’re dangerous, knife or not, he will be dead. He just knows it. “Hello?” the voice calls. “Is someone there? ...I’m sorry for intruding?”

Hongbin stays rooted in his spot, holding his breath, waiting. Nothing else happens; he only hears quiet shuffling, soft panting, nothing that’s coming closer to him. It seems like the stranger assumed there was no one there. So Hongbin decides to take advantage of it. He jumps out from his hiding spot, holding his knife in front of him still.

There is indeed a man sitting in a pile of broken crates. He looks up at Hongbin in surprise when he appears. He’s nursing a leg wound, Hongbin notices, and doesn’t look particularly dangerous - but maybe that’s enough of a reason to be suspicious.

“Who are you, and what are you doing on my property?” he asks, and his hand is shaking a little - the traitor. He’s _not_ scared, damn it.

The man grimaces and tries to sit up further. Cautious, Hongbin stretches out his arm with the knife in it, trying to look threatening. “Don’t move!”

Sure enough, the stranger stiffens. “May I just sit up a little? This feels awkward. I won’t hurt you; I’m already at a disadvantage.”

Hongbin supposes that’s true; the man is injured, after all, and Hongbin is already armed. He nods, although he doesn’t lower his knife.

The man smiles tightly and places his hands on the ground, clearly trying to settle in a taller and more comfortable position, although it seems like his injured leg makes him struggle. Hongbin watches him move around until he settles, finally looking up at him expectantly.

“Okay, tell me,” Hongbin says, “who are you?”

“Name’s Jaehwan,” he says, clutching his leg. “And I’m sorry for trespassing; it was an emergency situation and I needed to hide quickly.”

That sounds awfully suspicious; he could be trouble. And Hongbin doesn’t want to be involved with trouble. He is perfectly happy without it. “What kind of situation?”

“Ah, I was sort of being chased,” Jaehwan says with a grimace. “No worries, though, I lost them before I came here. They should be far away by now. Won’t be giving you any trouble.”

“This doesn’t help your case,” says Hongbin, voice rising. “By the gods. You could be anyone!”

Jaehwan groans dramatically. “If you must know, I was being chased by angry eagles. It took ages to outrun them. Listen, I’m not a very dangerous guy. Not unless you do something bad to me, at least. Again, I’m sorry for trespassing, and I’ll get off your property as soon as I can move better - it should not take long. I promise, I won’t be a bother.”

Right; the intruder is still injured. Hongbin looks at his leg, the fingers curled around it, and sighs. He might as well have control of where this guy goes, in case he does turn out to be trouble. “Very well,” he concedes, lowering the knife and offering his hand to Jaehwan, who looks at his hand as if it’s alien. “What? I’m trying to help you.”

“What’s _your_ name?” Jaehwan asks. “I’d like to know who’s helping me.”

“Hongbin,” he says with a sigh.

Lips parting slightly in a small smile, Jaehwan takes his hand and lets Hongbin pull him up. He stands on his good leg, leaning on Hongbin for support.

Hongbin helps him inside his house, with some struggle; Jaehwan keeps accidentally stepping too hard with his injured leg and then yells out in pain - Hongbin is amazed that he hasn’t lost all his patience already.

“I used to work for a healer,” Hongbin says as he prepares his healing kit and gently props Jaehwan’s injured leg up on a chair so he can inspect the damage. “She taught me many useful potions and remedies against infections.”

“Where is she now?” Jaehwan asks, wincing when Hongbin touches his leg.

“Passed away a few years ago,” says Hongbin. He carefully picks out a few items from his kit and begins to clean the wound. “She left me this house, hoping I would help people like she did. Didn’t anticipate that no one would come to ask me for it.”

A mixed look of uncertainty and sympathy crosses Jaehwan’s face when Hongbin meets his gaze for a brief moment. “I’m not upset about it,” Hongbin says. “Although I learned a lot, healing doesn’t feel like my true calling. I’m not patient enough to deal with ill people all the time.”

“So you live here all by yourself?” Jaehwan asks. “It’s a large estate for one person.”

Hongbin shrugs. “I quite like it. I suppose it does get lonely sometimes, and boring. But it’s peaceful and safe. It’s rare that anyone comes here. I watch sheep, and that’s the only interaction I have with anyone most of the time.” It crosses his mind that he is speaking to this stranger so comfortably, despite having threatened him with a knife not even an hour earlier. It’s a strange thought, but Jaehwan is listening calmly and making everything easier. Hongbin could almost enjoy this.

“And what do you do to pass the time? To have fun?” Jaehwan tilts his head, and Hongbin feels warm from the curious look on his face.

“I… build things,” he says. “Silly inventions, mostly, trinkets. And I look at the sky.”

“I love the sky.” Jaehwan smiles fondly. “Anything could happen up there.”

“I like to look for shapes in the clouds,” Hongbin blurts out. He meets Jaehwan’s eyes as he does; they’re warm. He looks away, focuses on cutting bandage for the wound, ignoring the feeling of his cheeks heating up. Why is he telling Jaehwan everything about himself so easily?

But Jaehwan is still smiling and nodding in agreement, only hissing slightly as Hongbin begins to bandage his leg. “What do you see? Animals?”

“Anything,” Hongbin says, bowing his head. “Horses, castles, even dragons. Never seen one in real life, but I can always imagine.”

The smile on Jaehwan’s smile grows wider. “Dragons,” he says happily. “I love dragons. Can you believe my luck, to land here with you?”

Hongbin frowns, pausing. “Land? What do you mean?”

“How do you think I would accidentally stumble upon your house and get myself injured? By walking?” Jaehwan shrugs.

“What are you trying to say?” asks Hongbin. “You flew?”

“Yeah.” Jaehwan looks immensely proud of himself, as if he knows something Hongbin doesn’t. Hongbin hates feeling like something is hidden from him.

“That’s not possible. You don’t have wings. You can’t fly unless you’re a dragonrider,” he says. And then he stops, narrowing his eyes. “You’re not a dragonrider.” He states it as though saying it will make it true - but Jaehwan just raises a brow, eyes glinting.

“Shall I demonstrate?” he suggests, looking toward the window. Hongbin follows his gaze - and then he sees it; a large shadow over his field. It could have been a cloud, if it weren’t for how rapidly it moves, and the roar that shakes his whole house. Jaehwan’s smile looks fond. “I may be injured, but I can still fly, because she is with me. Rose.”

The first Hongbin sees of the dragon is the claws dipping into view from where he can see out of his window - then the tips of what must be wings, and then its whole body. An enormous creature with shining blue scales lands near the house, frightening the sheep into running to the other side of their field, as far away as possible from the dragon. It stands tall and proud, large eyes focused on the house.

Hongbin simply gapes, his entire body feeling like jelly. There is a dragon, a real dragon outside his house, staring right at him, and it seemingly belongs to the man sitting in front of him. He looks to Jaehwan. “You’re. You’re really a dragonrider? That’s _your_ dragon?”

“She sure is,” says Jaehwan, grinning happily. He waves through the window to the dragon; it - she - snorts, smoke coming out of her nostrils. Hongbin feels a little faint at it all.

He has heard tell of the fabled dragonriders, read so many stories; he never thought he would meet one. They have always been elusive people, preferring to keep to themselves and be with their dragons - and admittedly, most cities aren’t built for dragons to live in, not without accidentally causing chaos and frightening the people. It makes sense for them to not be out in big cities. They rarely show their faces unless they are needed. In his books, Hongbin has read about dragonriders living in forests and caves and travelling to desolate, lonely places. But here? “What are you doing _here_?” he asks Jaehwan. “There’s nothing here.”

“Well, that’s perfect, isn’t it?” says Jaehwan. “Not too many buildings or people in danger of being accidentally trampled. Besides, people are normally scared of us.” He shrugs, then seems to think of something, his eyes widening. “ _You’re_ not scared, are you? Because if you are, we’ll gladly leave you alone-”

“I’m- not,” Hongbin cuts in, avoiding looking at Jaehwan’s eyes that soften as he speaks. “I don’t think. I just never imagined meeting one of you. I’ve read a lot about dragons and their riders. I, uh, used to dream of having my own dragon. That’s silly, isn’t it?” He chuckles nervously when he realizes that he is rambling.

“It’s not silly.” Jaehwan places a hand on Hongbin’s. His first instinct is to pull away, but the hand is warm and he lets it stay, feeling the calloused skin on his own. “Having a dragon is not like having a horse. They’re not one’s pets, or simply a way of transportation. And they can’t be bought. They’re… kin. Rose and I grew together. We have a bond. We feel what the other feels as one. That bond is very rare - that’s why there are so few of us.”

These are things Hongbin imagined, things he never read about in his books - they were always written by someone on the outside, not by an actual rider. And he wants to know more, is so curious about them now that he has a rider in front of him. “How does it feel? The bond?”

“It is… the one constant thing in my life, I suppose. It feels like I’m never alone.” Jaehwan smiles and glances at his dragon, settling down on her patch of grass. Hongbin can see the love he feels for her, pure and beautiful. “I always have her with me. In the best way.”

Then Jaehwan looks at him, head tilted. Hongbin, realizing he’s been smiling as well, bites his lip and looks down on the floor, suddenly shy. “That sounds wonderful.”

“You can say hello,” Jaehwan says, after a moment of thoughtful silence.

Hongbin’s head snaps up; he stares. “What? Really?”

With careful movements, Jaehwan moves his injured leg off the chair it was on and slowly starts to stand. Hongbin gets up to help but Jaehwan lifts his hand to stop him. “I think,” he says, leaning a little on his leg, testing it, “I think I can move fine, if a bit slowly. I will heal soon enough.” He straightens his back and dusts off his jacket, suddenly brisk. “Come on, do you want to meet her?”

“Yes! Gods, yes,” blurts Hongbin. He never imagined having a chance like this; he doesn’t know what to do with himself, or with the dragon when he will stand in front of her, the large creature that she is. But he definitely wants to meet her.

“Thought so,” Jaehwan chuckles. “Let’s go.” He leads Hongbin out of the house, onto the field.

And there she is, grand and majestic, and even from afar Hongbin’s breath is caught in his throat at the sight. Her blue scales are glittering in the sunlight, claws digging into the earth underneath just a smidge as she turns her head to face them. Hongbin finds himself unable to look away; a real dragon is in front of him - and willing to let him come close.

“Wow,” he breathes, stumbling as he walks closer with his eyes transfixed on her. “She is magnificent.”

“Isn’t she?” says Jaehwan. “Go over to her. Slowly. Let her cross the rest of the distance.”

Hongbin follows his instructions, approaching the dragon slowly and carefully - walking slowly is not a hard thing to do when he is so distracted from staring. He finds himself fixating on her eyes; possibly the size of his head, a piercing blue similar to her scales. They’re watching him, those eyes, following his every move, and he realizes it might be rude of him to stare. Wishing to be respectful, he casts his gaze down and stops walking at what he thinks should be a good distance. Then he waits.

A few agonizing seconds pass. Hongbin wonders if this could end badly, if the dragon is not as friendly as Jaehwan says. Sure, he has read of dragonriders and their dragons, and they seem like peaceful people, but he has never seen a real dragon up close. What will he do if she attacks him? It’s a large field, but the dragon is enormous and can probably breathe fire, from what he has heard of them. He’d be burnt to a crisp - or eaten. The thought is terrifying.

“Relax,” says Jaehwan from behind him. “She is just sizing you up.”

“I’m much smaller than her, that’s all she needs to know,” Hongbin mumbles.

Finally, the dragon moves, beginning to approach him. He almost steps back, but stops himself. He takes a deep breath, stands his ground and watches the dragon close the distance between them; as he realizes how fast his heart is beating, Hongbin hopes his faith is placed in good hands - and claws.

With the dragon’s snout less than a meter away from his face, Hongbin closes his eyes. Shortly after, he feels hot air on his face and opens one eye, only to see a large snout poke his forehead. He’s pushed backwards, staggering. But once he looks back up, the dragon snorts, staying in the same spot. Not attacking him.

“She likes you.” Hongbin jumps and sees Jaehwan next to him. Jaehwan smiles. “She’ll let you touch her.”

Swallowing, Hongbin lifts his hand to the dragon’s snout and slowly strokes it, once, twice. The skin is soft, her snout isn’t scaly like the rest of her, and Hongbin can’t take his eyes off of her. Only when she snorts again, smoke coming out of her nostrils, he jumps back just a little, and lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

He laughs in disbelief. “Hello,” he says as he gazes up and meets the eye of the dragon. “Rose, is it? I’m Hongbin. I’ve never met one of you before - you can probably tell. I’m- I’m beyond honoured.”

“She’s happy to meet you,” says Jaehwan, coming up next to him again and stroking Rose’s snout gently. “She thinks you’re nice. And she’s telling me to make you get on her back so we can fly and I can flir- hey!” He taps her snout, pouting. “She’s saying nonsense. But the point is, you should come for a ride.”

Hongbin gapes. “As in flying?!”

“Yes!” says Jaehwan brightly. “It’s beautiful up there, Hongbin. Imagine seeing all of this-” He gestures around them, “from above! And so much more! What do you say? Do you want to come? Just for one flight?” His eyes are shining, so genuine, and standing next to his dragon he looks like he came right out of one of the stories in Hongbin’s books.

He has always wondered what it is like up there. He couldn’t possibly decline such an offer.

And so Jaehwan ushers him towards Rose’s back, saddled and ready to go, and helps him up. Only once he is sitting there waiting for Jaehwan to get settled behind him does he realize what he’s gotten himself into.

He is going to _fly_. On a dragon’s back. “Oh gods,” he blurts. “Please tell me I won’t die up there.”

“You won’t die up there,” Jaehwan says pleasantly. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do it if I might die, would I?”

“You strike me as the type of person who enjoys danger,” Hongbin says, clutching onto the saddle. The blue scales underneath it are shining; he has the sudden urge to touch them, and now, more comfortable after having Rose accept him, he runs his fingers over them gently. It serves as a good distraction, the feeling of the scales underneath his fingers calming him if only just a little.

A pair of hands on his waist let him know that Jaehwan has settled in behind him. He shivers involuntarily at the unexpected contact. “Feels nice, right?” Jaehwan chuckles softly.

“Y- What?” Hongbin says, turning back.

Jaehwan nods to Hongbin’s hand still absently stroking the dragon scales. “Her scales. They’re nice.”

“Oh,” says Hongbin. He looks to the scales, removing his hand. “Yes. They’re amazing.”

“So, are you ready?” Jaehwan asks.

“I don’t think anything could prepare me for this.” Hongbin grimaces, unable to hide his nerves. Once they are up in the air, he will have no control of what will happen. It’s frightening - but also thrilling.

Jaehwan grins wildly. “You’re right. Let’s go!”

The dragon spreads her wings, then quickly drives them down, lifting herself into the sky. Hongbin’s stomach lurches, and he flattens himself as much as he can over Rose’s neck. He makes a nervous sound, but the dragon goes higher, the ground dropping away beneath them.

“Hold on tight!” Jaehwan says into his ear.

“You don’t have to tell me that!” Still, he grips the saddle tighter; just in time, as they swoop forward in a way that has Hongbin’s heart in his throat. He wants to yell in terror, but feels unable to. He just barely registers the landscape moving beneath them, trees disappearing from view just as quickly as they enter.

Only when Rose levels off does he dare to even breathe, finally able to think without feeling ill. He sits up a bit so he can see, air hitting his face - and his first thought is, “I’m flying!”

He feels Jaehwan’s chuckle against his back more than he hears it. “Yes, you are! How are you feeling?”

“Somewhere between ‘ill’ and ‘in awe’,” Hongbin admits. He inhales sharply when he feels Jaehwan chuckle again, then points ahead. “The ocean!”

There it is - the vast and blue and glittering ocean, reaching as far ahead as he can see. Hongbin’s breath catches in his throat; he has no words to describe how he feels. “It’s all so,” he says, “so beautiful.”

He clutches the saddle again when Rose begins to turn around. Now he can see his house, not as far away as he imagined, though it looks incredibly small from here, from this distance.

Hongbin never imagined he’d be up here, looking down at the field where he has been lying countless times. He has always stared up at the sky and admired it, wondering how it must be to fly - but he never thought he could do it. “I’m flying,” he repeats quietly to himself, a smile spreading on his lips.

“Where do you want to go?” Hongbin almost forgot Jaehwan’s presence, though it would be impossible to forget him properly, with Jaehwan’s hands on his sides.

“Where,” Hongbin breathes. He looks to the forest, the mountains rising behind the trees. To his house - left unlocked, he remembers, but no one will come there while he is away - and the field surrounding it.

He has been in the same place for so long. He wants to see somewhere new, if only for a short time.

“Anywhere.”

When he turns his head enough to see Jaehwan’s face, Jaehwan is smiling widely, and calls, “Let us fly, then!”

**Author's Note:**

> comments are appreciated <3 follow me on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/wolfodder) if you want!


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